Uzumaki Noriko
by Shadou Fireborn
Summary: FemNaruto. Konoha's number one unpredictable knuckleheaded ninja is instead a fiery-tempered kunoichi? How will Konoha cope? Rated M for future content. No pairings yet.
1. Chapter 1

Ok, first of all, the standard disclaimer.

I do not own Naruto, its characters, or its places. This is a fan work based on the Naruto Universe owned by Viz Media. This is a work meant to parody and entertain, and is covered under the fair use act, detailed at (AN: Can't get the site to allow the link to show. You'll have to look it up if you're curious.)

This fanfic is the Naruto storyline, as it might have happened if Naruto had been born a girl instead of a boy. It contains scenes taken directly from the anime, along with scenes I created. As the story goes along I will begin to stray further from canon, while still remaining true to the Naruto storyline. Some events that are critical to the Naruto story will not be changed. Other events may be rearranged, removed, or changed at my discretion.

I don't want to hear complaints about "That's not exactly how it happened in the anime/manga". I'm aware of that. I don't want to hear complaints about "You're just copying the anime/manga". I'm aware of that. I'm writing this story my way.

As for which pairing I'm shipping for... you'll have to wait and see, won't you? :-)

Enjoy the story. Comments and Criticism are welcomed.

* * *

Nine years ago, a nine tailed fox suddenly appeared. Its tails lashed out, smashing mountains and sending tidal waves crashing to the shores. The ninja rose up to defend their villages. One shinobi faced the nine tailed fox in mortal combat. He sacrificed his life to capture the beast, and seal it in a newborn baby. This ninja was known as the fourth hokage.

The third hokage wanted to protect the child, who by containing the nine tailed fox within herself would protect Konoha for all time. He let it be known that what the child held within herself was a taboo topic. He hoped that by doing this the child would be allowed to lead a normal life. He was wrong.

* * *

A blue eyed, yellow haired kunoichi in training stood apart from her classmates, watching them as they all played. She knew from experience what would happen if she tried to join in the fun. When she was younger, the parents of whoever she tried to play with would take their children home. When the children figured this out, they started to avoid her, since playing with her meant ruining their playtime. So she watched, lonely, as they played.

She sighed, and looked back to the tree she was practicing on. Her kunai and shuriken were stuck scattered randomly into the tree, not many of them within even the outer circle of the target she had painted on the face of the tree. She tossed another at it. Outer circle.

She felt ready to scream. "Why can't I hit it?!" She threw two more kunai at the circle, neither of which even hit the outer circle. She fell to her knees and pounded the ground with her fists in frustration.

"Noriko?" a familiar voice asked. She looked up.

"Hai, Iruka-sensei?" He was the only one that had ever been nice to her.

"Your kunai are getting closer," Iruka said. "It won't be long now until you're hitting it dead center." He rubbed her head. "You're getting better."

Noriko held her excitement in at having been praised. "Hai, Iruka-sensei. I've been practicing every day!"

Iruka gathered her kunai and shuriken for her and placed them in her pack. "Well, it's time to take a break. Come on, Noriko, I'll treat you to some ramen."

* * *

"Why do you try so hard, anyway?" Noriko and Iruka sat beside each other at the Ichiraku Ramen stand, as Noriko ate bowl after bowl of the noodles.

Noriko finished chewing and swallowing the mouthful of ramen she had before answering. "I want to become strong. I'll be the strongest, most beautiful kunoichi there is. Just watch, I'm going to be the hokage!"

Iruka smiled a little at his ward's bold declaration. "But why do you want to be the hokage? You'll have to be the best, and being hokage is a lot of work." He smiled as she paused. He knew how little she liked to do menial work. But then she shook her head.

"I don't care how much work it is. If I'm hokage, everyone will have to accept and respect me. I don't know why nobody likes me, but I'll show them all!" She stood and posed. "I'm Uzumaki Noriko, and I'm going to be the hokage!"

Iruka smiled at Noriko's statement, and patted and rubbed her on the head. "Alright, Noriko. Hurry up and eat." Noriko swatted his hand away and went about fixing her hair, before getting back up onto the stool and finishing her ramen. He smiled, but inwardly had to wonder at the dark path his ward had set foot on. He'd have to watch her carefully, to make sure she didn't get it any further into her head to force people to respect her.

* * *

Three years later

* * *

"Come on, Billboard Brow. Is that the best you've got?" Noriko taunted her opponent.

"Noriko, you bitch! I'll make you eat those words!" Sakura launched a spinning kick at Noriko, who easily ducked under it, following with a straight uppercut which laid the pink-haired kunoichi out.

"Not even worth my time," said Noriko, turning her back.

"Hey! You can't do that to Sakura, you bitch!" Noriko turned just in time to dodge a straight punch from Ino, who over-extended herself not expecting to have missed. As she stumbled forward, Noriko planted her knee firmly in Ino's abdomen, followed by a chop to the back of her neck. Ino fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Feh. If the guys can't pick on me anymore, why do you two think you can?" She paused a moment to fix her hair, then left the unconscious Ino and Sakura in the alley the two kunoichi had cornered her in.

Some minutes later, as she walked down the market street of Konoha, she sighed, placing her arms behind her head as she walked. "And it was supposed to be a good day, too. Why can't my birthdays ever go right?"

"What happened this time?" A familiar voice asked from behind her. She smiled and turned.

"Iruka-sensei!" She rushed and hugged him.

"Oof! You're so much bigger than you were when I took you in. So what happened this time to ruin your big day?"

Her face fell. "Ino and Sakura, again. They're completely unreasonable. They think that just because Sasuke doesn't pay attention to them, he must be paying attention to someone else. And since that someone else isn't Tenten, it must be me. At least Tenten wasn't there this time, she's getting deadly accurate with her kunai."

"Oi. You didn't do any damage to them this time, did you? You remember what we talked about..." Iruka's expression darkened.

She held up her hands defensively. "No, no! No broken bones this time, I swear. Sakura's only going to have a sore jaw tomorrow in class, and Ino might have some stomach problems and a sore neck."

Iruka sighed and mussed her hair. "What are we going to do with you? I'm going to have to tell the Hokage about this."

She swatted his hand away and started fixing her hair before that sunk in. "Eh! No! Don't trouble old man Hokage with this! I didn't do any lasting damage to them, I swear!"

"Then what did they say to you that made you angry enough at them to knock them out?" Iruka looked at her levelly, and she started to cringe.

"They... er... told me my whisker marks made me ugly, and my seal mark made me look fat." She looked down at the ground, knowing what was coming next.

"You've got to get your temper under control, Noriko. Did they deserve to be punched out for that?"

"No..." she said meekly. "Please don't tell the Hokage! Please? I'll try to get along."

"Sorry, Noriko. You know I have to tell Lord Hokage when you cause any injuries." Noriko slumped, looking at the ground. "But, just this once, since it's your birthday, I'll tell him later. You can enjoy your birthday for no- OOF!" He had the wind knocked out of him and staggered back as she tackled him in a hug.

"Thank you, Iruka-sensei!"

* * *

Noriko returned to her apartment in a good mood. She knew she'd be in trouble with the Hokage tomorrow, but it was her birthday, and she had a present from Iruka-sensei. She rushed inside to open it and see what it was. She shook it next to her head to hear what was inside, and heard something rattling around loose. 'Hm, box in a box. Iruka-sensei's always doing this to me...' she thought, and opened the outer box. Inside was a small, vinyl gift box, the kind that might hold a ring or a necklace. When she opened the box, she found a pair of earrings, and a note. The earrings were beautiful, silver earrings with a small gem the color of onyx dangling from where the piece connected to the ears. She held them in her hands, and the gem colors began to shift.

Seeing they were no ordinary earrings, she read the note. It read:

Noriko,  
I hope you like your birthday present. Since I took you in five years ago, you've grown to be a beautiful kunoichi, with incredible skill both in Taijutsu and with thrown weapons. I wish I'd had more time to help you learn to control your chakra, but I hope these earrings will help. They're chakra earrings, and help you become more aware of your chakra. I hope they help you.

-Iruka

Tears in her eyes, she put the earrings in and went to her mirror. She watched the earrings as the gems stabilized in color, one becoming blue like a sapphire, the other becoming red like a ruby. She focused, and found that with the earrings on she could feel her chakra pathways, and the amount of chakra flowing in them. She smiled, before taking them out and setting them next to her jewelry box. The colors faded back to black. She prepared for bed, and turned out the light before turning in. Tomorrow would be another big day.

* * *

Noriko rushed to class, not wanting to be late. Today was the day of the graduation exam. She stepped into the classroom, and the usual classroom antics were going on. Ino and Sakura were arguing over which of them got to sit by Sasuke, who sat with his eyes closed and looked like he wished he were anywhere but there; Shikamaru was sleeping at the back of the class, Choji sat next to him munching on chips, Kiba was playing with Akamaru, Hinata was sitting alone, and Shino watched over everything expressionlessly from the back. As Ino and Sakura noticed her walk in, they came to some unspoken agreement. Ino took the seat behind Sasuke, and Sakura took the seat beside him.

Noriko rolled her eyes at this. She didn't care about the two and their competition over Sasuke, she just wished they'd leave her out of it.

Something occured to her, though. For the two to have such enmity toward her for "stealing their Sasuke", there had to be someone spreading the rumor. And the only one she could see any reason for wanting to do so was Sasuke himself. Of course, if they thought he was unavailable, perhaps they'd stop pestering him. So he sicced them on her.

The thought made her angry, and she found herself walking to the front of his seat. She ignored the glares from both Ino and Sakura. "Sasuke, could I speak with you for a minute," she asked.

"Go away, you're as annoying as the other two," Sasuke said, nearly emotionlessly.

"Too bad. I've got a question for you," she said.

Sasuke opened his eyes and scowled at her. "Go ahead and ask, then. If it'll make you go away maybe I'll answer."

Noriko glared at Sasuke as she asked, "Everyone seems to think we're a couple for some reason. You don't have anything to do with that, do you?"

Sasuke looked at her and said, "Now why would I want anyone to think I was attracted to a kawaiikune otemba like you?"

Noriko slammed her hand down on the desk, and hardened her glare. Sasuke matched and returned it. This may have gone on for some minutes, were it not for someone trying to squeeze past behind Noriko, bumping her in the process.

The impact would have sent her sprawling over the desk, were it not for Sasuke being right there. Instead, it sent her into him. Their lips met, and both pairs of eyes widened and faces turned red from hair to neck as they realized what was happening.

Noriko reacted first, as she pulled away and started furiously wiping her lips. "Bleagh!! Oh my god, yuck! You kissed me!"

Sasuke was making his own motions of disgust at the kiss. "I kissed you? You're the one that jumped on me! Crazy annoying brat."

Both of them stopped as they felt killer intent from somewhere. Ino and Sakura both looked ready to spit nails, and they directed their glares at Noriko. "Sasuke's first kiss..." Ino started.

"Was supposed to be mine," Sakura finished.

That brought Ino's attention to Sakura. "No, it was mine!"

"You wish, Ino-pig!"

"Billboard brow!"

That would have started a fight between the two kunoichi, if Iruka hadn't entered the classroom right then. "Alright, students. Quiet down. I know you're all excited about your final day before you graduate. Find a seat, and let's get started." Noriko moved to sit next to Hinata, as usual. She gave a nod to the Hyuuga heir, who shyly returned it.

Ino and Sakura were still glaring at each other, and occasionally turning murderous glances on her. Iruka didn't fail to notice this, and asked, "Sakura, Ino, is there something the matter?"

Noriko giggled. "They're just being bitches about Sasuke, again."

Both Ino and Sakura glared at Noriko, but Iruka just nodded. "Well, to get started..."

Kiba slammed his fist down and yelled at Noriko. "Hey! Stop implying those two are illegitimate Inuzuka!"

Noriko smirked back at Kiba. "Who's implying anything? I thought I was being clear about it."

Kiba growled. "I'll have you know father was MUCH too terrified of moth..." Kiba cut off sharply as he realized what he was implying.

Noriko grinned. "They could be your distant cousins!"

"Enough, both of you," said Iruka. "Noriko, I know how you feel about them, but at least try to get along with them in classes, please? I don't know how I'm going to face the Hokage if I have to call in Jonin to break up a classroom brawl again."

Kiba glared at Noriko after being forced to withhold his cutting remark, and took his seat. Norika smirked at Kiba, and replied to his glare by sticking out her tongue and pulling down her lower eyelid.

"Noriko!" snapped Iruka. She jumped, and bowed to him quickly.

"Hai, Iruka-sensei," she said, and took her seat.

"Oh, and before I forget, the Hokage wants to see you, now. You're excused from class until you've seen him."

She drooped, knowing what this was about. She left the class, hearing the snickers of more than a few students behind her.

* * *

She stood before the Sandaime Hokage, staring down at her feet. He hadn't said a word since she entered, and the atmosphere was heavy as he sat looking her over, apparently deep in his thoughts.

Finally, he seemed to come to a decision, and spoke. "Noriko."

She almost jumped. "Hai, Hokage-sama!"

His expression softened, somewhat. "Relax, Noriko. Sakura and Ino didn't have any lasting damage done to them. I'm more concerned about you. You're not getting along with your classmates."

"Hai, Hokage-sama. None of them have ever liked me, I've never known why."

"Hmm..." The Hokage closed his eyes, and smoke curled up from his pipe. He knew why she had trouble getting along with her classmates, and it wasn't entirely her fault. He'd hoped his mandate of silence would allow her to lead a normal life, but it seemed to have had the opposite effect.

"Noriko, you are a wonderful gift to the village. Has anyone told you of the significance of the seal on your stomach?" he asked.

"No. The other kids make fun of me for it, and nobody seems to like it when I show it, but nobody will tell me what it is, not even Iruka-sensei." she replied.

"Hmm... just as well. Suffice it to say that what that seal holds is the reason you are such a gift to the village, while at the same time the reason the village curses you. I don't want you grow up bitter because the village curses you for your gift. They'll come to see you for yourself in due time."

She didn't entirely understand what the Hokage was saying. "What does the seal do? I know a little about seals, and this one is far beyond anything I've seen anywhere else."

He opened her eyes to look at her. The girl was very intelligent, that much was certain. "That is an S-class secret. You may figure it out on your own before you are of a rank high enough to be told such information." He hoped telling her that much would delay any more questions about it until she was ready to know the truth.

"I understand, Hokage-sama." She was curious now, what her seal held that was such a high classed secret.

"Now, return to your class. I believe today is the graduation exams, correct?" She nodded. "Then go, and do well on your test." She bowed, and started to leave. "I believe this year's test is clones," the Hokage said from behind her, and she froze.

"Clones?" she said shakily. She slumped. She'd forgotten to wear her chakra earrings, and knew that was the only way she'd be able to pass a test like that. "I'm doomed," she said as she left to head to her class.

A few minutes after she left, it occured to her. "He let me off? He let me off!" then she thought of something else. "He told me something, but in the end he told me nothing." She shook her head. "Senile old fart." She took off for her class.

* * *

She stood before the judges, Iruka and Mizuki. One more time, she had to try one more time to produce a useable clone. She made the handsigns, and gathered her chakra. "Clone Technique!" she called out.

"Wait, Noriko! That's too much chakra..." It was too late. Noriko completed the jutsu.

In a puff of smoke, a clone of Noriko appeared, but all three knew something was wrong. It looked vaguely like Noriko, but it was glowing in blue chakra. "Noriko, get away from it!" called out Iruka, just before the clone exploded, sending Noriko flying to hit the wall with a thud. She slumped, unconscious.

Iruka and Mizuki were blown back out of their seats by the blast, and they both looked at each other. "Well," started Mizuki. "We could give her points for coming up with a new application of the cloning technique. A clone bomb."

"Mizuki-sensei, the other students were able to produce at least three viable clones. After three tries, Noriko's best attempt exploded. The amount of chakra she put into it, as well, must have exhausted her. I can't pass her."

* * *

Noriko awoke in the Konoha infirmary. She tried to sit up, but the nurse in attendance pushed her down. "Stay still, we don't want you to overexert yourself."

"Eh? What happened? I feel fine," Noriko said.

"You put too much chakra into a cloning technique, so much that the clone exploded. You collapsed from chakra exhaustion," the nurse replied.

"But I feel fine. I don't have chakra exhaustion..." she sat up, and winced as her head throbbed. "But my head does hurt where I hit it."

The nurse looked at her patient clipboard. "Hmm... used cloning technique with so much chakra the clone exploded. It looks like it should have been chakra exhaustion... Oh! Another note here. Patient was thrown against the wall by the force of the explosion and knocked out."

The nurse looked at her. "I'm sorry, you're right. You were knocked out by hitting your head against the wall, not exhaustion. Let me get you something for the pain."

The nurse left, and returned moments later with a pill and some water, which Noriko gratefully took. The nurse activated a medical technique, and scanned Noriko's head. "Well, you didn't take any real damage, besides some bruising where you hit the wall." She scanned the rest of her. "And your chakra levels look normal. I guess we can release you." The nurse handed her a few pills. "Take one of these if the pain gets too bad. But you shouldn't need them."

"Yes, thank you, miss. One question, though. Did I pass?"

The nurse gave her a pitying look, and without needing to be told, she knew.

* * *

Noriko sat against the tree, apart from the large group of parents and their kids, watching them sadly. She thought of all the effort she had put into learning to be a ninja, of the hours she spent practicing her taijutsu and throwing, and she didn't graduate because she had failed a ninjutsu. She sobbed quietly, hearing the congratulatory comments from the parents to their kids.

"Hey, look at that one," she heard.

"It's that girl. I hear she's the only one who failed," another voice remarked.

"Serves her right."

"Imagine what would happen if she became a Shinobi."

"Isn't that the girl who actually..."

"Hey! We're not supposed to talk about that."

She bit back her sobs, holding back her tears, wanting nothing more than to cry out for all to hear, but knowing nobody there would care. Then she felt a presence beside her, and looked up to see the judge from her exam, Mizuki, kneeling beside her with a sympathetic look on his face. It was too much for her, and she hugged him, crying out, not caring who heard.

* * *

Sarutobi and Iruka watched from a distance as Noriko cried her eyes out against Mizuki, in heartbreaking sobs. "I blame myself for this..." Iruka started, but was silenced by a gesture from the Hokage.

"Iruka, we need to talk later," the Sandaime Hokage said as they both watched Mizuki leading Noriko to a less public area.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

* * *

Later, Noriko and Mizuki sat on a roof overlooking Konoha. "You know, Iruka isn't trying to be mean or cruel."

"Then why only me? Why did only I fail?" Noriko had managed to control her sobs, but now they threatened to boil up and spill out again.

"He wants you to become stronger, as strong as you can be."

Noriko didn't reply, just looked over Konoha with tear-filled eyes.

"You know, neither of you have parents. Maybe he sees you as similar to himself."

"But I wanted to graduate more than anything." her tears spilled over and she sobbed.

Mizuki sighed. "I guess I have no choice but to let you in on a big secret."

Noriko looked up at him in surprise, the tears still streaming down her stained face.

* * *

Iruka lay on his bed, remembering his talk with the Hokage. "Iruka, I know how you feel. You want to protect her. She's like a daughter to you, and you feel bad for her because she's like you, she has no parents."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"However, you can't protect her forever. Her physical marks are near the top of her class, even the guys. Her failure to produce a clone shouldn't have held her back. Take Guy's student, Lee, for example."

Iruka had been ashamed by that. Lee did not have the capacity to use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, but he had become a Taijutsu master through willpower and effort, and passed the academy graduation exam. Noriko wasn't nearly on Lee's level in Taijutsu, but she did have the capability to use Genjutsu and Ninjutsu, even if her control of her chakra was bad.

"Next time you see her, pass the girl. She needs to learn to fly, and caging her in the academy won't help her."

He was interrupted from his musing by someone pounding on his door. "Wake up, Iruka!"

He stood and answered his door, to see Mizuki standing there, a ragged expression on his face. "What's the matter?"

"Come to Lord Hokage's immediately. I heard that Noriko stole the Scroll of Sealing!"

* * *

Noriko held the scroll of sealing, hidden in a secluded part of the woods surrounding Konoha. "Let's see, which one should I learn? I guess I'll just start from the top."

She opened the scroll just enough to see the first technique. "Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu?" She sighed. "Great. It had to be a cloning technique. Why is it always a cloning technique?" She began to study the technique from the scroll.

* * *

The crowd of Chunin and the few Special Jonin was restless. "Hokage-sama, the scroll of sealing is dangerous! We can't forgive Noriko!"

Another Jonin called out, "The scroll of sealing was sealed by the First Hokage! It would be a disaster if it fell into enemy hands!"

The Third Hokage nodded slightly. "Yes. Bring Noriko here at once."

"Yes, sir!" came from all of the Ninja present, before they all scattered to search for Noriko.

* * *

Hours later, Iruka finally located Noriko, laid out in the woods, breathing hard. Iruka could tell that she was near exhaustion, and saw scratches all over her, and various pock-holes in the ground around her.

She opened her eyes and looked at him as he approached. "I... I did it," she gasped out, smiling.

His anger at her evaporated as he looked at her confused. "What did you do?"

"I learned a technique!"

He looked down at her dubiously. Did she really learn a technique from the scroll of sealing? She was near the point of exhaustion, and he could see where she must have had a number of techniques explode on her.

"So, if I show you my new technique, you have to let me graduate from the academy, right?" she asked, excitedly.

Iruka became even more confused. "Who told you that?"

"Mizuki-sensei did! He told me about the scroll, and about this place I could train, and that if I learn a technique from the scroll that I have to be graduated from the academy! Can I show you my technique, so you can graduate m- aah!" The last exclamation came as Iruka suddenly pushed her to the side, and she was surprised to see a number of kunai hit Iruka.

Iruka winced in pain from his multiple kunai wounds. "I see how it is."

Mizuki stood on a branch of a tree overhead, laughing. "Noriko, give me the scroll of sealing."

Noriko looked confused, first at Iruka who stood with kunai wounds, then at Mizuki, his attacker. "What... What's going on?"

Iruka ripped a kunai out of his leg. "Noriko, don't listen to him, don't give him that scroll! It's a dangerous scroll, full of forbidden jutsu, and was sealed. Mizuki used you to get the scroll for himself!"

Mizuki just laughed. "Noriko, Iruka is only afraid of you having the scroll. After an incident 12 years ago, a new rule was created."

"Stop! You idiot, don't tell her about that!"

"A rule everyone but you, Noriko, knows."

"What is it, what rule?" Noriko had to know, even if Mizuki was acting strange.

"The rule forbids anyone from revealing that you are actually the Fox Demon! You are actually the demon, Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit who killed Iruka's parents and destroyed our village! He didn't graduate you because he hates you."

"That's not true, you bastard!" Iruka called out.

"Noriko, didn't you find it strange? Why did everyone hate you so much? Why couldn't you make friends?"

"No... it's not true... it can't be..." Noriko said. Both Iruka and Mizuki could feel her chakra rising, as she tried to deny the possibility.

"Nobody accepted you! Iruka hates you because you killed his parents!" He pulled a fuma shuriken from his back and began to spin it. "You're just a damn fox demon! You should die!" He released the large shuriken, and it flew unerringly toward Noriko. Noriko stood, stunned, as the shuriken threatened to end her life.

"Noriko! Get down!" called Iruka. He rushed to her, pushed her down, and covered her from the attack. The fuma shuriken landed in his back, and he let a cry of pain escape him. He coughed a few drops of blood, which landed on Noriko's face.

"Iruka-sensei, why...?" Noriko asked, more confused than ever.

"Because we're the same. After my parents died, nobody paid attention to me. I wasn't a good student in school. I was the class clown, because I wanted people to notice me. You're the same. I see you fighting, all the time, trying to be noticed, trying to be recognized, and I see myself, acting stupid trying to be noticed.'

"It's hard, isn't it Noriko?" Iruka's eyes were filled with tears, and they fell from his face to hers. "It's hard to make people notice you, so you have to fight. You knock out Ino and Sakura when they pick on you because you want them to accept you. Isn't it lonely? You're suffering inside, and you want someone to support you."

"I'm sorry, Noriko. If I had been there for you more, you wouldn't have suffered as much. I could have helped you learn the cloning technique, instead of you struggling with it, alone. You're like a little sister to me, family I never had."

Mizuki laughed from up on his perch. "Don't make me laugh! Iruka has always hated you, ever since you killed his parents! He's just saying all that to get the scroll away from you!"

Noriko looked away from both of them, her expression unreadable. Suddenly, she was no longer underneath Iruka, and was running deeper into the forest.

Mizuki laughed as he jumped down from the tree. "She is not the kind of girl to change her mind easily. She will take revenge against Konoha using the techniques on that scroll. Haven't you seen her eyes? Those are the eyes of a Demon Fox."

Iruka pulled the fuma shuriken from his back. "No... Noriko isn't like that at all!" He threw the shuriken at Mizuki, who sidestepped to dodge it.

"Pfeh. All I want is to kill Noriko and get the scroll. I'll take care of you later!" Mizuki took off into the forest after Noriko.

"I won't let you," replied Iruka.

* * *

Later, Iruka caught up with Noriko as she jumped from branch to branch in the trees through the forest. "Noriko! Everything that Mizuki said was a lie! Give me that scroll, quick! Mizuki is after the scroll!"

Iruka was surprised as Noriko suddenly charged in his direction, and used all her force of momentum to pummel him in the gut. He went flying back, and landed on the ground in a heavy thud.

Noriko landed a few feet away, breathing heavily, the scroll of sealing on her back. She unslung the strap on the scroll, and let it fall to the ground, herself joining it a few moments later as her tired legs gave way.

"It can't be. Why is it, Noriko? How..." There was a puff of smoke, and it was no longer Iruka lying there, but Mizuki. "...did you know I wasn't Iruka?"

Noriko grinned at Mizuki, and in a puff of smoke, it was no longer Noriko sitting there, but Iruka. The scroll of sealing was a log. "Because I'm Iruka."

Mizuki stood. "I see. What's in it for you to protect the one who killed your family?"

"I'm not gonna let a stupid idiot like you get that scroll!"

"You're the idiot. Noriko is the same as me."

"The same as you?" Iruka questioned.

"Anyone can do whatever they want once they have the scroll. There is no way that that monster... that Fox Spirit, won't take advantage of the power of that scroll!"

"You're right..."

Noriko, overhearing the conversation from a place hidden in some bushes, heard that and bit her bottom lip to choke back a sob. 'I guess it was true all along!' she thought. 'Iruka-sensei never really cared for me at all!'

"...if she was the Demon Fox Spirit."

Noriko nearly gasped aloud and blew her cover when she heard that.

"But Noriko is different. She is an exceptional student. She may be violent and angry all the time, but she works hard. No one accepts her, but she knows the meaning of human suffering. She is not the Demon Fox Spirit. She's Uzumaki Noriko of the Village Hidden in the Leaves!"

Noriko felt like she could cry from happiness, and a few tears spilled from her eyes. Mizuki, however, couldn't believe what he was hearing. He pulled the last fuma shuriken from his back. "You are so gullible, Iruka. I was going to take you down later, but I've changed my mind." He spun the shuriken and prepared to throw. "Die!" Mizuki charged Iruka with the spinning shuriken in hand.

Iruka closed his eyes. 'I guess this is the end for me...' he thought.

Suddenly, in a blur, Noriko came out of her hiding spot and knocked Mizuki away from Iruka before he could strike. The fuma shuriken flew from his hand, and chopped down a couple of tree branches as it flew off into the forest. Iruka opened his eyes, expecting to have already been killed, and saw the thing he least expected. Noriko was standing before him, protecting him. "Noriko?!"

Mizuki stood up, from where he had been knocked to his knees. "You surprised me there, freak."

Noriko stood there, looking at him with a glare that could kill. "If you ever lay a hand on Iruka-oniichan, I'll kill you."

"Shut up! I can take care of a kid like you with a single blow!"

"Why don't you try then? I'll strike you back a thousand times for every one you land!" She held her hands in a sign and drew on her chakra.

"Let's see you try! Show me what you can do, Demon Fox!"

"Shadow Clone Technique!" called out Noriko, and all around there were puffs of smoke as dozens upon dozens of identical clones of her appeared.

'Noriko, how...' thought Iruka. 'Those aren't just images, but actual clones! That's an advanced Ninjutsu!'

Mizuki looked around at the over one hundred identical clones as they all shifted into battle stances. "What's the matter? Come on!" They all taunted him. "Weren't you gonna get me with one blow? Here!" He fell to the ground in fear, looking around at all the clones. "In that case... Here I come!" Mizuki screamed, as the clones all rushed him and started giving him the beating of his life.

* * *

Mizuki lay on the ground in a bloody, beaten mess as Noriko stood over him. She turned her back on him. "Hmph. That's what you get for trying to kill my oniichan." She walked over to Iruka. "Are you alright, Iruka-oniichan?"

"Yeah," he replied. Inwardly, he was thinking to himself, 'She really is something. Maybe it's true, maybe she will be the hokage.'

"Noriko, come over here. I want to give you something. Close your eyes."

She kneeled in front of him and closed her eyes, and felt something on her forehead. He wrapped something around and tied it behind her head. "Okay, you can open your eyes now."

She opened her eyes, and saw Iruka wasn't wearing his headband. She opened her eyes wide, and went into her pouch for a small mirror. She looked in the mirror, and saw she was wearing the leaf headband.

"Congratulations... on your graduation," Iruka said, smiling at her.

"But... but I thought..." she stuttered out.

"I was going to give it to you next time I saw you anyway. Your marks in Taijutsu and throwing accuracy are top notch. Your Ninjutsu isn't great, but as you've just proven, that's a hurdle you can overcome."

She just looked at him, stunned, and then at the same time the tears started flowing, she tackled Iruka in a hug. "Oof," he said. "Take it easy, I'm hurt."

She didn't respond, but just hugged him tighter, the tears falling freely from her face.

* * *

Author's Note: This is probably the only time I am going to insert scenes from the anime nearly verbatim.


	2. Chapter 2

Noriko raced to the academy, her headband worn proudly on her forehead, and her chakra earrings in place. One seemed to glow blue, giving it the appearance of a sapphire, one seemed to glow red, giving it the appearance of a ruby. She was focused on her own chakra, feeling how her chakra flowed through her body, and how much she was using with the exertion of running. She was so focused on her own chakra, she didn't notice the chakra levels of others around her until it was almost too late.

She drew a kunai from her thigh sheath, and in a blur blocked three shuriken. She heard a curse from somewhere. "Show yourselves," she called out. "I know you're out there, Ino and Sakura. You too, Tenten."

"Hmph," Tenten jumped down from her hiding place in a tree overlooking the road, and looked at Noriko. "I was hoping we'd end this quickly. Guy-sensei is expecting me elsewhere."

Ino and Sakura came out from their hiding places in the bushes. "Come on, Tenten. You know it'll take all three of us to take her down."

Noriko looked down at the shuriken Tenten had thrown at her. It wasn't a dulled training shuriken, it was a sharpened killing weapon. This was deadly serious. "So you've come to kill me too, now?"

Ino and Sakura looked shocked. Tenten smirked. "Well, killing is the way of the shinobi..."

Ino gasped at Tenten, and Sakura's eyed widened further as they both realized how deadly serious Tenten was being. "No, Tenten! We didn't want to kill her," exclaimed Sakura.

"We just wanted to teach her a lesson for kissing Sasuke!" finished Ino.

"Oh, we're not killing her? Too bad. I could have used the exercise. Well, I'm late to meet Guy, Lee, and Neji for training. Ja ne." Tenten disappeared, and the two remaining kunoichi sweatdropped as they faced Noriko. They both knew they were in trouble.

"You know, I was in a good mood, all things considered, until you showed up," started Noriko. "Then you brought your friend along to kill me, and this will be the second attempt on my life in two days."

"We're sorry!" exclaimed Sakura, to both Ino's and Noriko's surprise. "We didn't know what Tenten was planning! We just wanted to hurt you for stealing Sasuke's first kiss, we weren't going to kill you!"

Ino was surprised at Sakura's exclamation, but she had to nod and agree with it.

"You want Sasuke's first kiss? You can have it. Yech... I don't think that even qualified as a kiss. Bleagh." Noriko made gagging motions.

"What, Sasuke's not good enough for you now?" started Ino, and cut off as Noriko glared at her. She realized the position she and Sakura were in... Noriko could beat them both together if it came to a fight, without Tenten on their side.

"I'm not interested in that stuckup, snotty loser, and I'm sure the feeling is mutual. I don't care about your little rivalry over Sasuke, but leave me the hell out of it!" She turned in the direction of the academy and started walking. "Kami above, but you two would be dangerous if you'd put the amount of effort into training that you do chasing Sasuke... -urk!" The last was as, to Sakura and Ino's vision, she disappeared. She had been pushed into some bushes by a blur hitting her from the side, a blur Sakura and Ino had missed, but now pinned Noriko to the ground, hidden in the bush.

Tenten held a finger to her lips and winked at Noriko, as they could both hear Ino and Sakura talking as they passed. "That was different. I guess she was in a good mood, usually she'd at least give us a few bruises," came from Ino.

"I still don't know why you insist on keeping up this rivalry with her," from Sakura. "She's way above us, we're not going to learn much by getting beat by her."

"Maybe you're right. What was up with Tenten, anyway? I've never seen her like that!"

"I don't know. She's been different ever since she joined Guy's team. Maybe..." their voices faded as they went out of range of hearing.

Tenten let Noriko up and offered her a hand. "I'm sorry for this, but I felt you need to know the truth of what's been going on."

Noriko took the offered hand and stood. "I think I get it, from hearing Ino and Sakura talk. I should give them a few lumps for this deception. But where do you come in?"

Tenten sighed. "I gave up on Sasuke a long time ago, even before I graduated and joined Guy's team. I'm tired of them dragging me into their rivalry with you, also. I did that so they'd reconsider dragging me into it all the time."

Noriko giggled. "Well, if they were thinking clearly, they would have noticed. You didn't have any killing intent. If you did intend to kill me, I wouldn't have noticed your first attack until it hit. You wanted me to block it."

"Guilty as charged. Look, don't tell them about this. They're friends, but they need to get better on their own. I need to get back to training. Maybe we'll meet again." Tenten disappeared in a blur Noriko could barely follow.

'She's getting better,' thought Noriko. 'Being on a team and doing missions really does seem to make a difference...' That reminded her what time it was. "Crap! I'm going to be late! I don't want to miss team assignments!"

* * *

"Alright then. Everyone's here? Today we'll be making team assignments," said Iruka.

Noriko rolled her eyes. 'Why don't you tell us something else we already know, Iruka-oniichan.' She began to wonder who her teammates were going to be, and scanned the classroom. She knew each kunoichi would be paired with two other guys. Kiba would be an asset to a group, but she couldn't stand the dogboy. Shino was just creepy. Choji... ugh. Shikamaru might be useful to a team, but the guy lacked motivation in a major way. Sasuke? She hoped she didn't wind up on his team. Ino and Sakura were already insufferable. She was so caught up in trying to decide who she wanted on her team, she almost missed it when Iruka called her team.

"Team seven, under Hatake Kakashi: Uzumaki Noriko, Uchiha Sasuke, Inuzuka Kiba."

She snapped out of her daze. "What? Why do I have to be paired with those two losers?!"

Sasuke simply looked away with a "Tch." He didn't seem to like the team any more than she did.

Kiba was a bit more vocal about it. "Who are you calling losers?" he yelled out as he slammed his palms on his desk, glaring at her.

"Quiet down," said Iruka. "Each team was set up to get the best average of overall abilities. Sasuke graduated at the top of the class, while Kiba finished at the bottom. You, considering your lack of skill in techniques, yet high skill in Taijutsu and throwing, fell in the middle of the class."

She sat down, grumbling, then it hit her. "Kiba? He was the deadlast?" she just about fell out of her chair laughing.

"Hey! Shut it you otemba!"

That had her on her feet and glaring at Kiba. "What did you call me?!"

"You heard me. You're more boy than girl. You should have been put on a team with another guy and kunoichi. I don't know why our team had to be the only one without a girl."

She lunged at him, but was stopped by a hand on her collar. She was lifted up, and held off the ground by a Jonin that had appeared behind her. "Argh! Let me go! I swear I'll only hurt him a little!"

"Thank you, Guy, for being here to watch over this today. I swear this is the rowdiest class I've ever had." Iruka bowed to Guy.

"No problem. I'm happy to help make sure the flowers of youthfulness don't tear each other on their thorns."

Noriko was still struggling in Guy's grasp to escape and teach Kiba a lesson. Kiba was taunting her, laughing that she couldn't get to him. "Noriko, sit down. Kiba, behave. NOW!" Iruka's tone of voice indicated that he would not allow any argument.

Kiba gave a little whine of submission, turned forward and stopped his taunting of Noriko. Noriko tried to argue, sputtering out, "But.. but sensei, he-"

"NO BUTS! You're a ninja now, start acting like it."

She slumped. "Yes sir," she said, and Guy finally released her to her seat. He disappeared, but she knew he had to be around somewhere, watching.

"Now, then, the remaining team assignments are..."

* * *

"I can't believe I got stuck with both dogboy and mister fangirl magnet," griped Noriko. "On top of that, where the hell is our new sensei? He was supposed to be here hours ago." She seethed inside that she couldn't just knock Kiba around a bit. But she had been told if anyone on the team had so much as a bruise or a scratch on them when their Jonin instructor arrived, all three of them would be sent back to the academy and have to graduate all over again.

"As if you're such a pleasure to deal with." Kiba growled. He was moving a chair to the door. She watched in puzzlement as he climbed on the chair, and wedged a chalk eraser in the door so that anyone opening it would get hit.

She sighed. "You know he's a Jonin, he's not going to fall for such an elementary trap."

"Only one way to find out, isn't there?" Kiba grinned at her as he put the chair back where it was supposed to be.

She rolled her eyes. Inwardly, though, she was giggling. 'I wonder if our instructor really will get hit...'

"You two are annoying," said Sasuke. "Settle down and wait."

"Lighten up a bit. Don't you like pranks?"

"I feel no need to play such childish pranks on someone I don't even know," stated Sasuke, his attitude clearly showing he thought such pranks were beneath him.

"Pfeh. You're no fun."

The three waited in silence for a time, until all three heard the footsteps outside the door and perked up. The door opened and a silver-haired, masked ninja with his headband covering one eye walked in, and got hit in the head by the eraser.

Kiba started laughing. "I got him!"

"I'm sorry, sir! I tried to stop him, but he did it on his own!" said Noriko, but she was failing to cotain her giggling, and wasn't being very convincing.

Sasuke just looked at their new jonin instructor with an expression that clearly displayed his disbelief that a jonin could fall for a trap like that.

Their instructor reached down and picked up the eraser, and looked over his three genin students. "Hmm... well, for my first impression of you guys... I hate you."

All three sweatdropped.

"Meet me on the roof," he said, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

"First, let's have you guys introduce yourselves. You first, blondie."

"Eh? What should we talk about?"

"Well, your likes, dislikes, future dream, hobbies, stuff like that."

"What about you, sensei?" piped in Kiba. "Why don't you tell us about yourself too?"

"Me? My name's Hatake Kakashi. I don't feel like telling you about my likes and dislikes. I've never really thought about my future dream. As for my hobbies, I have many."

All three genin sweatdropped. "In the end, all we learned about him was his name," muttered Noriko. Kiba nodded.

"Next is you guys. Blondie?"

"My name's Uzumaki Noriko. I like training, fighting, and ramen, especially the ramen from Ichiraku. I hate stupid fangirls, and people who won't take me seriously. My hobbies are training my Taijutsu, and making myself stronger. My dream is to be the strongest and most beautiful kunoichi, just like my role model Tsunade-sama, and become the hokage so everyone will recognize and accept me!"

'Hmm, she's grown up in an interesting way,' thought Kakashi.

Kiba burst out laughing. "You? Be the hokage? And like Tsunada? Don't make me laugh. You're too much of a kawaiikune otemba to be like her, and I'll be hokage before you ever will!"

Kakashi felt Noriko's intent to kill before either of the other two genin did, and before she could draw out her kunai from its sheath on her thigh pouch, she found his hand covering hers, preventing it from moving the kunai a millimeter out of its sheath.

All three genin sweatdropped; none of them could even follow his movement. One moment he was sitting some distance from them, the next he was holding Noriko from drawing her kunai. One thought raced through all three minds: 'How much stronger is a jonin above a genin?'

"He is your teammate, no matter what he says. Remember that," said Kakashi, and Noriko could feel the intensity of his chakra. She felt that, at any moment, she could be killed by this man... on a whim even. She just nodded, and he removed his hand from hers. She rubbed her wrist, to get the blood in her hand circulating again, and to still her trembling.

"Well then. Next, you." Kakashi was back, sitting in the same position he was before, as if nothing had happened. His one visible eye focused on Kiba.

"My name is Inuzuka Kiba. I like my companion, Akamaru, and I dislike dog haters. My hobby is training with Akamaru at my side. My dream is... well, I guess I haven't thought about that much either."

"Hmm... Alright. And finally, you." His eye came to rest on Sasuke.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I have many dislikes, but no likes in particular. And I don't feel like summing up my ambition as just a dream, but I do have an ambition. The ambition to restore my clan, and without fail... to kill a certain man."

Both of the other genin sweatdropped. Who knew Sasuke had such a dark ambition? "Good," said Kakashi. "The three of you are very distinctive and interesting. We'll have a mission tomorrow.

The genin looked excited at that. At least, Kiba and Noriko did. Sasuke wore the same uninterested expression he usually did. "What kind of mission?" asked Noriko.

"First, we'll do what we can do with just four people. A survival exercise."

All three looked disappointed.

"Isn't this supposed to be a mission," asked Kiba. "Why are we doing a training exercise?"

Kakashi chuckled, "Of the 27 graduates, only nine will be recognized as genin ninjas. The remaining eighteen will be sent back to the Academy. This is a survival exercise with a 66% failure rate, with your academy graduation at stake."

"That's crazy!" burst out Kiba. "We went through all that to graduate, and now we have to take another test? And only a third of us will make it?"

"That's right. I'll be the one that decides whether you pass or fail. That's the way it is. Meet at five in the morning, bring all your ninja tools. All of them." His gaze settled on Kiba. Kakashi knew about the Inuzuka clan, they fought alongside their dogs. Kiba got the message clearly. Bring Akamaru.

All three genin had similar thoughts at that moment. They had different motivations, but they all knew, they couldn't fail this test.

"Okay, you're dismissed. Oh... and you'd best skip breakfast. You'll throw it up." Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the three genin to their thoughts.

* * *

The next morning, the three genin met each other at the training ground. Akamaru was sleeping on Kiba's head, who looked like he was sleepwalking himself. Noriko was dragging herself along. Only Sasuke really looked awake. They sat, and waited for their jonin instructor, as the sun came up.

They waited. And waited. An hour passed, then two. No sign of their instructor.

Kiba played fetch with Akamaru, throwing Akamaru's favorite toy, which Akamaru chased and returned to Kiba. Noriko would have thought it was cute, if she weren't bored out of her mind herself waiting for Kakashi. They continued to wait.

Hours continued to pass. Akamaru and Kiba had tired of their sport, and now both napped. Noriko tossed small stones at each other, idling away the time waiting for Kakashi. Nobody could tell what Sasuke was thinking about. They continued to wait.

Finally, Kakashi appeared. "Good morning, folks."

Noriko and Kiba both screamed out at him, "YOU'RE LATE!!!" Akamaru barked his agreement.

"Well, this black cat crossed my path, you see..."

All three genin and the dog looked at him like they couldn't believe what they were hearing.

"*cough* Yes, well then." He set an alarm clock on a stump. The time read 11:10.

"It's set for 12:00. Today's assignment is to take these bells away from me by noon. Those who can't do it don't get lunch." He shook the bells, and they clattered against each other. "Those who don't get a bell will be tied to those logs and get to watch while I eat my lunch in front of you."

All three genin sweatdropped as their empty stomachs grumbled. 'So that was the point of not eating breakfast,' they thought.

"But sensei, there's only two bells there. That means..." started Noriko.

"Yes. Only two of you will pass this test. The other will be disqualified for failing this test, and return to the academy. It might be one person, at the very least, or it could be all three of you. You can use your shuriken. You won't be able to take the bells unless you come with the intent to kill me. Begin when I give the ready-go signal."

"Damn you!" yelled out Kiba, as he drew a kunai and rushed Kakashi. "You made us skip breakfast for your trick, and now you're not even going to graduate all three of us?" His attack stopped abruptly as he found himself with his arm pinned behind his back, the back of his neck pricked by his own kunai held by Kakashi.

"Don't be so hasty. I didn't say start, yet."

Akamaru whined at his masters distress, and Kiba sweatdropped. Sasuke and Noriko took a step backward. Was this the power of a jonin? None of them had seen him move.

"But that's fine," he said as he released Kiba from his hold. "At least you came at me with the intent to kill. How can I put this... I think I'm finally starting to like you guys. We're going to start. Ready... Start!"

The three genin scattered in different directions to conceal themselves.

* * *

Noriko crouched in the bushes, watching Kakashi. He was looking around, apparently trying to figure out where the three of them had concealed themselves. She saw no indication that he was dropping his guard, so she stayed there, crouched, and waited.

After a time, Kakashi reached into his pouch. Noriko watched unblinkingly. What was he going to pull out? A smoke bomb? A shuriken? Had he discovered one of them?

She watched with some disbelief as he pulled out a book. The cover read "Make Out Paradise", it was a perverted book. She sweatdropped. Was he really going to lower his guard to read a book?

Two shuriken flew from somewhere. Kakashi caught them between his fingers without even looking up from his book. "You can come out now, Kiba," he said. "I know where you threw those from."

"Damn it," said Kiba as he jumped from a tree. "Alright, since we can't get you even when your guard is down, let's do this."

Akamaru jumped down from Kiba's head and barked at Kakashi.

"Hm?" Kakashi's visible eye wandered to Kiba, and then back to his book. "Alright, I guess I have some time to teach you some things. Ninja art #1, Taijutsu."

"I know what Taijutsu is, you prat!" Kiba swung with a clawed attack at Kakashi, who dodged it without taking his eyes from the book. Kiba kicked back at Kakashi, who had dodged behind him, but Kakashi dodged again. Akamaru barked, and jumped at where Kakashi dodged to, only to have him disappear.

Kiba looked around. "Dammit, where'd he go?"

"Behind you," said Kakashi, holding his hands in the tiger sign. Noriko widened her eyes. That was a dangerous jutsu Kakashi was going to use! It looked like he was going to use fire jutsu.

"Don't let your enemy get behind you," Kakashi said. Akamaru barked a warning to Kiba. "Too late! Leaf Village Secret: Ultimate Taijutsu!" he called, and shoved the tiger sign right up Kiba's butt. "One Thousand Years of Pain!" He shoved, and Kiba flew off, howling in pain. He landed in the river. Akamaru growled and barked at Kakashi, then ran and jumped into the water after his master.

Noriko sweatdropped. What a stupid technique.

She decided she needed to come up with a plan. If Kakashi wouldn't leave them any openings, she'd have to make one herself. Thinking quickly, she created a shadow clone, and sent it after Kakashi.

"Hm?" he looked at her clone. "You don't think you're going to fare any better than your teammate, do you?"

"Shut up!" said the clone. Noriko hoped he was convinced it was her. "I'll get a bell no matter what! Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!" Noriko created the clone near her existing clone as the clone said that. In total, there were 7 clones there.

"Hmph. Shadow clones. You can't beat me that way."

"Here I come!" All seven shadow clones rushed him, while Noriko prepared to throw a shuriken from her hiding place. The clones attacked Kakashi with her best taijutsu attacks, but one by one were thrown back and disappeared in a puff of smoke. As the last two remaining clones started another attack, she threw her shuriken, aiming at the bit of rope that held one of the bells. The shuriken connected, as both clones managed to connect a punch with Kakashi....

And Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The two clones, and Noriko herself looked around. Had they been fighting a shadow clone? Where was the real Kakashi?

"Hey," said a voice from behind her, and she turned around to see Kakashi there. He held his hands in a sign. "You might want to do something about those chakra spikes of yours. I knew exactly where you were the moment you made your first clone." He activated the technique he was holding the sign for. Noriko felt her head become hazy, as the world spun around her, leaves swirling around. When she regained her bearings, she was alone.

"Noriko," came a voice from behind her. She turned around, and it was Iruka. He was bloody from multiple kunai wounds, and he had a giant shuriken running through him. "It was a surprise attack on the village. Help... me..." he said, and collapsed.

"Iruka-oniichan!" She ran to him, and felt for a pulse. He was dead. "NO!!!" she screamed, and fainted.

* * *

She awoke to a cold, wet nose in her face, and a wet tongue rubbing her face. "Ack, thph... Akamaru, what? Where's..."

"Yo," Kiba came into her range of vision. "Akamaru found you passed out. What'd Kakashi do to you?"

She thought about it. "Genjutsu," she said. "It had to be. I saw Iruka dying, and then I passed out."

"Have you come to the same conclusion I have?"

She thought about that. "Kakashi's too strong. He's a jonin, and we're just genin. One on one, there's no way any of us are going to get a bell."

"Right. So we're going to have to team up on him. We might even need mister stick-up-the-butt's help."

Noriko giggled, thinking that Sasuke wasn't the only one to have something up his butt recently. But she became serious. "You know there's only two bells. There's three of us. One of us fails."

"At least one of us failing is better than all three of us failing, which is what's going to happen if this keeps up. We can decide between us which of us fails, AFTER we get those bells."

She had to admit Kiba was making a lot of sense. Even more surprising was that it was Kiba that had come up with it. She should have thought of it first. "Alright, so we'll team up on Kakashi to get those bells, and then we'll decide who gets them. But how do we get Sasuke..."

She cut off as they both heard a scream from Sasuke. They rushed in the direction they heard him, and found him buried to his neck in the dirt. "What happened to you?" they both asked at the same time.

"Ninjutsu. Sneaky bastard got me." Sasuke struggled there for a few moments. "Could one of you help? I can't budge an inch."

Kiba and Noriko looked at each other and grinned. Perfect opportunity. Sasuke saw them, and didn't like the look of the grin.

Noriko walked up and squatted down in front of Sasuke. "Sure, we'll help you out... IF you'll help us out."

"Explain," was all Sasuke said in response to that.

"We want to get those bells. None of us here can get them by ourselves. So we want you to help us get the bells, and we'll decide which one of us fails afterward."

"Feh. I don't need your help to get the bells. I'll do it myself."

"Alright, we'll just leave you to struggle out of that hole you're in yourself. If you're lucky, you might get out of there before the time's up..."

Sasuke was trapped, and he knew it. "Alright, alright, fine. Get me out of here."

* * *

The three of them crouched in the bushes, looking at Kakashi. Time was running out, and all three of them knew it. "The clones are in place," whispered Noriko. "Is Akamaru ready?"

"Yeah, he's in place. You ready for this, Sasuke?"

"Yeah. Let's get this over with."

On cue, the three burst out of their hiding place and rushed Kakashi. He looked up from reading his book. "Oh, a group attack? But you know one of you will fail."

"Shut up!" Noriko attacked Kakashi with her best moves, and Kiba came in to support her. When Kakashi jumped back to avoid their mutual attacks, he was surprised to see shuriken coming at him from multiple directions. He jumped away to avoid again, and all seven clones that had thrown shuriken broke cover, surrounded him, and rushed him. Kiba and Noriko threw shuriken at him, and he jumped high into the air to avoid the multitude of attacks.

"Fire style: Fireball Technique!" He heard Sasuke call, and knew he was in trouble. He couldn't change directions in the air, he was a sitting duck for the fireball.

The three genin cheered when they saw the fireball engulf Kakashi, only to be disappointed as the fireball dispersed to reveal a charred, burnt log. "Substitution technique? Then where..."

"Right here," came from behind them, and the three genin sweatdropped. They turned around to see a very slightly singed Kakashi holding the sign for a nearly completed technique. I thought I told you once, don't let an enemy get behind y-"

He cut off as Akamaru jumped from behind him, and bit the bells off their strings. Akamaru ran to Kiba to deliver the bells.

"Alright! We win!" cheered Noriko.

Kakashi released the sign, and brushed at some of the singes on his coat. "So, you got the bells. Good teamwork. But there's only two of them, how are you..."

Kakashi sweatdropped as the three genin started playing Jan-Ken-Po against each other for the bells. Kakashi sighed. He didn't have any other choice at this point.

He loomed over the three of them, and looked down at them where they were playing. They all looked up at him nervously.

He smiled at them beneath his mask. "Congratulations, you all pass!"

They all looked at him, dumfounded. "But sensei... why..." started Noriko.

"Ah, I see you don't quite get the point of the test yet. No matter. The three of you performed admirably as a team, even knowing that one of you would fail. It did take me beating the sense into you individually for you to get it, but you managed to figure it out before the time was up."

In the distance, the four of them heard the alarm bell just beginning to go off. "So, that means..."

"Noriko, a ninja must learn to see through deception. This test was meant to put you against each other, to see if you could function as a team even when a mission forces you to choose between teamwork and finishing the mission. In this case, one of you would be disqualified whether you got the bells or not. Yet all three of you came at me full force anyway, knowing one of you would fail. That's the kind of teamwork that is expected of shinobi."

"You three pass! Team seven starts missions tomorrow!"

The three genin cheered each other, tossing the bells into the air. They had finally made it. They were ninja!

* * *

Author's Note: This chapter was much more challenging to write than the first chapter, for the bell test scene. In the first chapter, the scene I took from the anime, Noriko stealing the scroll of sealing and the scenes to follow the characters involved were the same, with Noriko being the only exception. In this chapter, not only did I have Noriko's apparent intelligence and skill level being far different from Naruto's, I had Sakura replaced by Kiba. To an extent, I compensated for this by replacing Naruto with Kiba and Sakura with Noriko, but that only just worked to an extent. Noriko is not Sakura, and Kiba is not Naruto, and their skills and priorities are different. Sasuke is the only predictable factor here, but events still unfolded differently for him, from his perception, than they did in the anime.

Still, I think I did a good job here. Let me know what you thought of it.


	3. Chapter 3

"I can't thank you enough for bringing back my Tora! I was worried to death," said the Feudal Lord's wife as she cuddled (read: held in a choke hold) the cat the three genin had retrieved. The genin looked at the cat's distress without a shred of pity. They all wore scratches and bite marks from the cat. It had fought them the entire way back to the village after they had captured it.

"Now then," started the Hokage. "The next mission for Kakashi's Squad Seven is..."

"Excuse me, Hokage-sama. But isn't there any missions of a greater urgency we could do?" interrupted Noriko.

"Yeah, that's right," yelled out Kiba. "We've been doing nothing but blah missions since we started. Peel potatoes, babysit, retrieve a toy from a roof... give us something worthwhile!"

Kakashi hit Kiba on the back of the head. "Pipe down. The Hokage will decide when you're ready for tougher missions."

"Ow..." whined Kiba.

"But sensei, Kiba's right. We're not doing anything that tests our skills, and you know we can work as a team. Why can't we do any more difficult missions?"

"Hmm..." The Hokage looked over the three genin. Even the Uchiha prodigy looked like he was bored with the routine missions they had been doing. "You all know what a mission is. Requests pour into the village every day, and they are sorted into ranks according to their difficulty. As brand new genin rookies, you three are only qualified to do the lowest rank, D missions."

Sasuke looked away with a "Tch". Noriko sighed, resigning herself to yet another boring mission. Kiba let out a little growl, which earned him another smack from Kakashi. He whined a little, and slumped in defeat.

The Hokage saw the disappointment evident on all three of them, and came to a decision. "Okay, fine. If you insist... I'll have you do a C Rank mission. You will be bodyguards for someone."

The genin perked up. Akamaru barked excitedly, and Kiba exclaimed, "Alright! Who is it?"

"I'll introduce you now. Could you please come in?" the Hokage said, and they heard a door open behind them. They saw a heavyset, late middle aged man enter the room.

"What's this? It's just a bunch of darned squirts." He took a drink from the bottle of sake he was carrying. "Particularly you, the short otemba."

Noriko gave the man a killing glare. "I'll show you otemba!" she yelled out, and started to rush the man. Kakashi's hand on her collar prevented her from getting far. "Let me go! He called me otemba! I'll kill him!"

"What good will it do to kill the man we're supposed to be protecting?" Kakashi asked, and Noriko sweatdropped, realizing what they were supposed to be doing.

The man finished off his sake, and let out a heavy breath. "I'm Tazuna, veteran bridge builder. You'll be risking life and limb in guarding me, until I return to my land and complete my bridge.

* * *

The five stood just outside the gate leaving Konoha. "Alright!" cried out Kiba, and Akamaru barked excitedly. "Let's get going!"

"Settle down, dobe," said Sasuke. Kiba glared at him, and Akamaru growled from inside Kiba's jacket. Kakashi just watched the two of them as he walked alongside Tazuna. Noriko was strangely subdued, walking beside him. He decided that he needed to keep an eye on her; something was obviously bothering her. He hoped it wouldn't become a problem on the mission. At least whatever was bothering her was keeping her quiet, and he wouldn't have to deal with her violent outbursts for a while.

The three had excellent teamwork; they had shown this time and again on their missions. However, the three refused to get along. If it wasn't the longstanding feud between Kiba and Noriko, it was Sasuke's condescending attitude toward both of them that sparked conflict after conflict. His attention returned to Noriko. Perhaps he'd ask her what was troubling her when they stopped for the night.

"Hey. Am I really okay with these squirts. Those two can't get along, and this one doesn't seem to have much life in her."

Kiba and Sasuke both glared at Tazuna, and Noriko just sighed. Kakashi held in his surprise that she didn't have any more reaction than that. Whatever was troubling her was serious.

"I'm a jonin. I'll be watching the three genin. There's no need to worry," he said

* * *

The three continued to walk on their way to the land of waves. Noriko hadn't said a word since leaving Konoha, which puzzled Kakashi. He'd thought she would be excited on her first time outside Konoha. But she walked silently, almost lifelessly. He definitely had to talk to her.

As they continued along the path, Akamaru whined to Kiba from inside his jacket. "I know, Akamaru. I smell them too, but I can't tell where it's coming from."

Kakashi noted the exchange, but didn't comment. He had sensed they were being trailed as well, and was waiting for the inevitable attack. 'He's a sensor type, and not a bad one,' thought Kakashi. 'Good to know.'

Sasuke had noticed Noriko was walking rather listlessly, and was walking next to her. At least, he wasn't going out of his way to keep his distance from her, and ended up walking near her. Kiba seemed on his guard.

The sudden, intense feeling of killing intent coming from behind them surprised all of them, as two ninja burst out of a puddle in the road, and in the blink of an eye had wrapped Kakashi in a razor chain. "The first one," they both said, as they pulled the chain, ripping Kakashi to pieces.

Noriko broke out of her fugue. "Kakashi-sensei!!" she screamed, but stopped as both the enemy ninja turned their attention on her.

"The second one," they both said, and Noriko froze as she saw the chain coming toward her, threatening to wrap her the same way it had Kakashi.

Sasuke sprung into action, quickly drawing a shuriken and a kunai from his pouch. He threw the shuriken, which intercepted the chain headed toward Noriko, and pinned it to the tree. He threw the kunai through the hole in the shuriken, ensuring that the shuriken and the chain would remain pinned to the tree.

The two enemy ninja reacted with surprise when they found they couldn't yank the chain out of its pin. "It doesn't come off?" Sasuke landed between them, grabbed each of their arms that were pinned to the tree, and delivered a fierce kick to both their faces.

Both ninja released the chain from their gauntlets, and rushed in different directions. One rushed Tazuna, and the other rushed Noriko. Kiba saw the attack coming, and stepped before Tazuna holding a kunai ready to defend, Akamaru perched on his head ready to attack. At the last moment before the attack, Sasuke also stood there to defend Tazuna.

Noriko, however, looked like a deer caught in a car's headlights. She saw the attack coming, and managed to raise one hand to defend herself, but she didn't react quickly enough, and his clawed gauntlet raked her forearm.

Suddenly, both attacks stopped as Kakashi stood there, with both enemy ninja in submission holds. "Yo," he said.

'Tch. Showoff,' thought Sasuke, as he saw how Kakashi had subdued both ninja within an instant. Both Noriko and Kiba looked at where Kakashi had "died". A pile of logs lay on the ground. Kakashi had used substitution.

"Noriko... Sorry I didn't help you right away. I got you hurt. I didn't think you'd be incapable of moving," Kakashi said, dragging the two enemy ninja to the tree their chain was pinned to. "Anyhow, let me just say, good job, Sasuke. You too, Kiba."

'I... couldn't do anything,' thought Noriko. 'But Sasuke... it was his first real battle... Didn't he feel scared at all? I couldn't even move to defend myself, I was too scared...'

"Yo, are you hurt... scaredy cat?" Sasuke smirked at Noriko.

Noriko seethed with rage at that. "Sasuke you jerk!" she yelled out and started to rush him.

"Noriko!" Kakashi called in a warning tone. "These guys have poison on their claws. You need to take out the poison quickly."

"What?!" Noriko looked at her wound. It was barely bleeding.

"You have to open the wound and drain the poisoned blood. Don't move so much, the poison will spread." Noriko looked at her wound, with something approaching panic. She was poisoned!

"By the way, Mr. Tazuna..."

"W-What is it?"

"I have something to talk to you about."

* * *

Kakashi had tied the two ninja to the tree with their own razor chain. Noriko was still nursing her scratched arm. She hadn't had the guts to open the wound herself. "Chunin from the Village Hidden in the Mist... These guys are Ninjas known for continuing to fight no matter what the sacrifice."

"How were you able to detect our movements?" one of the ninja asked.

"There probably wouldn't be puddles of water on a clear day like today, when it hasn't rained for days." Kakashi responded.

"Knowing that, why'd you leave it to the kids to fight?" asked Tazuna.

"If I felt like it, I could kill these guys instantly. But... I had to know who the target of these enemies was."

"Hm?! What do you mean?"

"I had to know whether it was you, or one of us Shinobi who was being targeted. We haven't heard anything about you being targeted by Ninjas. The content of the request was supposed to just be protection from gangs, thieves, and the like... This is a mission with a B rank or higher. The request was supposed to be for back-up protection until you finished building your bridge. If our enemies were to be Ninjas, the mission would've been estimated without question as an expensive rank mission. It appears there's some good reason for this, but being lied to in the request won't do. This is beyond the scope of our mission."

"We're not ready for this kind of mission yet. Well, at least me and Noriko aren't," said Kiba, and Akamaru barked his agreement from the top of his head. "Let's go back to Konoha. Noriko needs medical attention."

"This sure is a burden. Since we need to treat Noriko's wound, we need to return to the village."

Rage boiled up within Noriko, and where she had been hesitant before, she quickly drew a kunai from a sheath and plunged it into her arm where it had been scratched. All four others looked on in amazement as she held the kunai there, letting the blood from her arm spill onto the ground.

"Noriko! What the heck do you think you're up to?!" Kiba exclaimed.

"I should be getting stronger," Noriko started, fire in her eyes. "Here I'm steadily carrying out missions and doing extra training by myself every day... I'll never get into another situation from which I'll have to be rescued. I'll never be afraid like that again. I won't lose to Sasuke! I'll protect you, old man. I swear it! The mission continues!"

"Noriko, it's all well and good to rid yourself of the poisoned blood, but any more than that and you'll bleed to death."

Noriko sweatdropped, and had to suppress the panic she was starting to feel. She withdrew the kunai, and blood started to flow more freely, increased by the panic and her elevated heart rate.

"Things will get hairy if you don't stop the bleeding quick... Seriously! Show me your arm."

Noriko gave Kakashi her arm and tried to quell her rising panic. She couldn't bleed to death here!

Kakashi looked at the wound with some surprise. It was already closing. "Kakashi... am I going to be okay?" Noriko asked him nervously. She was having a hard time keeping herself from panicking

Kakashi began to wrap the arm with a bandage. "Well, you should be okay." 'Is it the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox?' he thought.

* * *

Later, Noriko sat in the boat they had rented, staring out into the fog. She was glad she'd bandaged her breasts, since the thick fog and humidity was making her shirt stick to her. She watched the fog listlessly, apparently lost in her own thoughts. Kakashi didn't fail to notice that whatever was bothering her hadn't stopped when she made her bold declaration. She'd gone back to keeping to her own thoughts as soon as the adrenaline and panic of the situation had passed. He'd have to get her alone to talk to her, and soon.

"The bridge should be visible soon. When we reach the side of the bridge, we'll be in the land of waves," said the boat operator.

Kiba peered out into the fog, and could just dimly make out the bridge construction. "Whoa! That's huge!" he exclaimed, and Akamaru barked his agreement.

"H-hey! Please keep it down! I took this boat out under the cover of fog, cut the engine and am rowing by hand! If they find us, we'll be in deep trouble!"

Kiba clamped his hands to his lips, but Kakashi and Sasuke looked accusingly at Tazuna. "Mr. Tazuna, I want to ask you something before we arrive at the Pier. The identity of your assailants, and the reason why they are after you. If you don't tell us, our mission may end when you make landfall" Kakashi looked deadly serious, almost angry.

They continued in silence for some moments, as the boat came beside the bridge and started to follow alongside it.

Tazuna sighed. "It appears I have no choice but to tell you. Frankly, I'd like to get it off my chest. Just as you said, this may be beyond the scope of your mission. Actually, I am being targeted by a terrifying man."

"A terrifying man? Who?" Kakashi's tone indicated he was not going to accept not being told.

"You guys have probably heard at least his name before. A shipping magnate by the name of Gato."

Kakashi looked surprised. "What? Gato... of the Gato Company? One of the world's richest men?"

"Yes. On the surface, he's the chief executive of a shipping company... but underneath, he is into drug trafficking, and deals in contraband using gangs and Ninjas. Moreover, he runs a despicable business, ruthlessly taking over nations and enterprises."

'It was about one year ago when that man first set his eyes on the Land of the Waves. He used his wealth and violence to enter this country, and before anyone knew it, he had taken complete control of the island's maritime transportation and shipping. Having a tight grip on the ocean, in an island nation like the Land of the Waves, means having control of finance, the government, the people... everything. The one thing Gato fears is the completion of the bridge that has been under construction for some time now."

The story had even Noriko's attention at this point. "Since you're the one building the bridge, you've become a hindrance."

"Then those Ninjas from before were Gato's men...?" asked Sasuke.

"But I don't understand. Your opponent is a dangerous one who will even use Ninjas. Why did you hide that fact from us when you made your request?" Kakashi asked.

"The land of the waves is a very poor nation, and even feudal lords have no money. Of course, we ordinary citizens have no money either. We cannot afford to make requests of B rank or higher.'

"Well, if you pull out of the mission when I land ashore, I will, no doubt, be killed. Killed sometime before I make it home.'

"But there's no need for concern! Should I die, my cute grandchild who will turn eight will only cry his heart out! And my daughter will only blame the Hidden Leaves Ninja for the rest of her life and grieve in solitude! Oh, it's not your fault at all!"

All four ninja sweatdropped at the guilt-tripping they had just received. "Well, I guess we have no choice," said Kakashi. "Let's continue as his bodyguards."

"Oh! I am most grateful!" The expression on Tazuna's face, however, was closer to that of victory than of gratitude.

"We'll be arriving soon," said the boat operator. "Tazuna, it appears we haven't been noticed up until this point."

"Thanks," replied Tazuna.

* * *

When the boat arrived at the pier, they disembarked and the boat sped away. "Okay. Get me home safely," said Tazuna, and the five began walking.

'When they next attack, it won't be chunin, but elite-level jonin. Cripes...' thought Kakashi to himself.

The five continued walking for some time, and Noriko remained lost in her thoughts. 'Even though I'm a girl, they call me otemba and treat me like a guy...' she thought. It had been eating her up inside since even Tazuna had called her that, upon first meeting her this morning. She looked down at her clothes. It wasn't remotely feminine or frilly, but she'd never really wanted to attract a guy that way. She was wearing an orange shirt, white shorts, and a white light jacket. Even her backpack was orange, and not some feminine color. She wore her yellow-blonde hair short, tied into a ponytail that barely reached her shoulders. She had to admit, it wouldn't be strange to see a guy wearing exactly what she had on, even her hairstyle.

She sighed heavily. 'Otemba, otemba, otemba... can't they see I'm still a girl...' Suddenly, she felt a wave of killing intent coming from somewhere. She quickly drew a kunai from her thigh sheath, and threw it in the direction the feeling was coming from.

"What are you doing?!" Kiba yelled out. Apparently he hadn't sensed anything. Sasuke, on the other hand, had a kunai in hand. He crept over to the bushes Noriko had thrown her kunai, to see a white snow bunny cowering where it had nearly been skewered by the kunai that had landed mere inches away.

He smirked at Noriko. "If you're looking for our dinner, you'll need to aim better than that. You missed it by inches.

Kakashi, however, was on full guard. He had sensed what Noriko had responded to, and had noticed the strangeness about the snow bunny's color. 'It must have been raised indoors, away from sunlight, to be used in a substitution. They're here,' he thought.

Noriko, Sasuke, and Kiba had started bickering about whether there really had been someone there or not. Kiba insisted that he would have smelled something if someone really was around, earning him taunting from Noriko and Sasuke about being a dog boy.

"Everyone get down!" Kakashi yelled out, getting the attention of all three bickering genin They looked up to see a huge, spinning sword flying at them from the trees. All five hit the ground, and the sword flew over them to embed itself in a nearby tree. A tall, masked man landed on its handle.

Noriko pointed to the ninja. "See?! I told you there was someone!" She had retrieved her kunai, and now held it in a defensive stance. The kunai seemed woefully inadequate, though, in contrast to the huge sword the enemy had. She thought of the scroll she had in her pouch, and what had been sealed within.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Rogue Ninja of the Hidden Mist, Zabusa Momochi." Kakashi said.

Noriko shifted her stance and prepared to throw her kunai, but Kakashi raised a hand to stop her. "Don't get in the way. Stay back. He's on a totally different level from the guys earlier." He raised a hand to pull up his headband, which the three genin had noticed was always covering his left eye. This would be the first time they see it uncovered.

"I assume you are Kakashi, the Sharingan user..." Zabusa stated. Sasuke looked at Kakashi in surprise. "Sorry, but I'll have you hand over the old man."

"Get in Manji battle formation, you guys. Protect Tazuna. Don't involve yourselves in the fight." Kakashi pulled the headband from his eye, and opened it to reveal a red pupil with three teardrop marks around the outside. "I am his opponent," he said.

"Well now, I never expected to see the rumored Sharingan this soon. This is an honor," Zabusa spoke in a somewhat mocking tone.

"What the heck is a Sharingan," Kiba growled. "And what's up with that eye?"

"Sharingan is power that the light of the eye generates, and the pupil emanates," Sasuke said. "The user of the so-called Visual Art is said to possess the vision to see through all genjutsu, taijutsu, and ninjutsu, and is able to deflect them. The Sharingan is a type of eye that is unique to the user of the Visual Art. However, that is not the only power of the Sharingan."

"Well said. That is not all. What's more frightening is that such an eye can assess an opponent's techniques and copy them." A thick mist began to cover the area as Zabusa spoke. "When I was in the Anbu Black Ops of the Hidden Mist, there was information about you in the Bingo Book I carried around. There was also something else in the book about the man who has copied over one thousand skills... Kakashi the Copy Ninja."

All three genin looked at Kakashi dubiously. Was he really that incredible a Ninja? Sasuke had his own thoughts about it. 'The Sharingan is a special trait that only appears in a select few, and only among the Uchiha clan. How did he come to have it?'

"Let's end the talking here. I must kill that old man immediately." The three genin quickly took up a defensive formation before Tazuna, each with a kunai held ready. "But, Kakashi, it seems I have to defeat you first." Zabusa kicked off the tree, easily removing his embedded sword, and disappeared.

The five spotted him standing on the water, a whirl of water and mist surrounding him. "Ninja art: Hidden Mist Technique," he said, before the mist became too thick, obscuring him from sight. When the mist cleared, he was gone.

"He'll probably come to erase me first..." Kakashi took a few steps toward where Zabusa had vanished.

"What the heck is he?!" asked Kiba. Akamaru growled from on top of his head. "Yeah, I couldn't smell him either."

"Well, he's probably used some scent masking technique. That was Momochi Zabusa. He's an Anbu Black Ops member in the Hidden Mist, and is known as the "silent killing technique" expert. As the name suggests, it's a killing skill that's implemented in an instant of silence. By the time you realize it, it's possible you may find yourself in the afterlife. I haven't totally mastered the use of my Sharingan, so don't lower your guard, you guys. Well, if we fail, we'll only die."

The mist in the area started to steadily thicken. Before long, it was so thick the genin couldn't see Kakashi standing a few steps away.

"Eight spots," came Zabusa's voice from the mist. "The larynx, the spine, the lungs, the liver, the jugular and the subclavian veins, the kidneys, the heart. Now then, which vulnerable spot would be good?"

Kakashi focused his chakra, and the intensity of his chakra pushed a large portion of the fog away. It was still misty, but it was easier to see. The effect on the genin, however, was they were paralyzed by the intensity of the chakra in the area from not one, but two elite jonin level ninja.

'It feels like... if I make a single move, or even take a single breath, I'll be marked and killed,' thought Noriko. 'Is this a jonin's thirst for blood?' She felt a slight movement from Sasuke beside her, and looked to see him trembling, and his face covered in a look of complete and utter panic. He shifted his kunai to a strange grip... it almost looked like he planned to plunge it into his own stomach. 'N-no! Sasuke, don't!' she tried to say, but the words wouldn't come out.

"Sasuke. Don't worry. I'll protect you with my life. I will not allow my comrades to get killed." Kakashi turned his head and smiled at the genin.

The three genin were able to relax slightly. The intensity of the chakra and intent to kill in the air had not wavered a bit, but knowing that some of that was intent on their protection made it easier to bear.

"I wonder about that..." In an instant, Zabusa was standing in the middle of the genin's formation, sword at the ready to kill all three genin and Tazuna in one spinning stroke. "It's over."

Before any of them knew it, Kakashi had pushed them all out of the way, and had impaled Zabusa with his kunai. The three genin looked on as water leaked from the wound Kakashi had inflicted on Zabusa, and another Zabusa appeared behind Kakashi, sword at the ready to deliver a fatal blow.

"Kakashi-sensei! Behind you!" yelled Noriko. Kakashi looked behind him as the Zabusa he had impaled dispersed into water, falling to the ground. The other Zabusa didn't give him time to react, slicing Kakashi in half with a mighty stroke. The three genin watched in horror as Kakashi was severed in two, which turned to surprise as the two halves of Kakashi dispersed into water and fell to the ground in a splash.

'The water clone technique? It can't be! In this mist, did he actually copy me?' Zabusa felt Kakashi's kunai pressed against his neck. "Don't move. It's over."

Zabusa chuckled. "Did you say it's over? You don't understand, do you? You won't be able to beat me just by making like a monkey. Not a chance." He chuckled again. "But I must say you're good. My water clone technique was being copied when you spoke. By letting the clone talk as if it were you, you succeeded in distracting me. And you used the Hidden Mist Technique to hide yourself to see what I was doing. But..." Another Zabusa appeared behind Kakashi. "I'm not a fool."

The Zabusa Kakashi had his kunai held to dispersed into water, and the Zabusa behind him swung his sword. Kakashi ducked under the blow, only to receive a kick from Zabusa that sent him flying. Zabusa rushed after Kakashi, sword ready, but a gleam on the ground made him stop. 'Makabishi spikes...!' "Hmph. How foolish." Zabusa jumped into the water.

Kakashi surfaced in the water where he'd landed. "What's with this water? It's awfully heavy."

"Humph... Fool!" Zabusa appeared behind him, making some hand signs. "It's the Water Prison Technique!" Zabusa finished his hand signs, and Kakashi was encased in a bubble of water. "You're caught. It's a special prison that makes it impossible for you to escape! It makes things harder having you able to act. Now, Kakashi, I'll have to settle things with you later. First I will finish those guys off." He made another hand sign. "Water Clone Technique."

He turned his attention to the three genin "You're acting big, wearing a headband like a Ninja. But a real Ninja is one who has hovered between life and death numerous times. In other words, only those who are worth being listed in my Bingo Book deserve to be called Ninja." The clone made a hand sign, and the mist thickened. "Guys like you can't be called real Ninja." The mist obscured him from view.

'He disappeared again...' thought Noriko, just before she received a vicious kick that sent her flying. Her headband came off, and fell to the ground at Zabusa's clone's feet, who stepped on it. "You're just a kid!"

"You three! Take Tazuna and run!" yelled Kakashi. "You have no chance against this guy! As long as he has me trapped in this Water Prison, he won't be able to move from here. And he shouldn't be able to use the Water Clone Technique if he's far enough away from his real body. In any case, just run for now!

'Run? Not a chance. Not while you're trapped... Even if we ran, he'd catch us sooner or later, and kill us,' Noriko thought. 'Our only option is to save you, so you can protect us.'

Sasuke seemed to have been having similar thoughts. "We'll just have to do it!" he yelled out, rushing the Zabusa clone. He tossed a handful of shuriken at it as he rushed, which were blocked by a swing of the clone's sword. Sasuke leaped into the air, readying an attack as he came down.

"Too easy," the clone said, and caught Sasuke by the neck as he came down, interrupting whatever attack he had planned. He threw Sasuke away, who landed heavily on the ground some distance away and slid.

"Sasuke!" yelled out both Noriko and Kiba. 'He just took down Sasuke so easily. The jonin level, a real ninja... We can't run, we can't fight him... at this rate, we're all going to die!' Noriko started to push herself to her feet, getting ready to run. 'I don't want to die! Maybe he can't get all of us! I have to run!'

A twinge of pain in her arm reminded her of the kunai wound she had given herself, and she suddenly remembered the circumstances surrounding the wound. 'That's right. I promised I wouldn't be so afraid, that I'd never need to be rescued. I won't lose to Sasuke.' She looked down where the Zabusa clone was stepping on her headband. 'I'm a ninja now, and I'm not going to run anymore.' She rushed Zabusa.

"You fool! Stop it!" yelled Kakashi from inside the water prison.

"Idiot," said Zabusa, as Noriko came at him, and beat her away with a mighty punch. Noriko went flying, and landed some distance away, rolling from the impact.

"What are you thinking, stupid?! Charging him on your own! You saw what happened to Sasuke!" Akamaru barked his agreement from on top of Kiba's head.

Noriko stood, her headband in her hand. She turned a glare on Zabusa. "You. Record in your Bingo Book, about the kunoichi who will one day become the Leaf Village's Hokage." She tied her headband back on her head. "Leaf kunoichi Uzumaki Noriko!"

"Sasuke, Kiba, I have a plan." Noriko pulled a scroll from her pouch, and rolled it out. She wiped a little blood on the scroll to break the seal, and in a puff of smoke, a long staff appeared. "We're all going to go at him together. Let's show him what we can do!" She spun the staff in her hands, and held it in an attacking position.

The other two nodded, realizing what her plan was. Just like in the bell test against Kakashi, there was no way a single one of them would be able to prevail over Zabusa. But with all three of them fighting together, they might be able to secure their objective. The only difference here, was instead of capturing the bells, their objective was to rescue Kakashi.

Zabusa chuckled. "You? The Hokage? An otemba like you? Don't make me laugh. You guys still don't get it, do you? You want to play at being Ninja? By the time I was your age, my hands were already stained with blood."

"Zabusa, the Demon," Kakashi remarked. "Ten years ago, the hidden mist village was forced to reform its Ninja graduation exam. The previous year, a boy who did not have the qualifications to become ninja killed over a hundred candidates."

"Ah, that sure was fun," said Zabusa. In a flash, his clone rushed Noriko and delivered a fierce kick. Noriko only just managed to bring her staff up to block, but was knocked away by the force of the kick.

"Noriko!" Both Sasuke and Kiba yelled. They looked at each other, and nodded.

Kiba leaned over into a position on all fours, and Akamaru jumped onto his back. "Ninja art of Beast Mimicry: Man-Beast Clone!" he called, and in a puff of smoke, Akamaru on his back transformed into a clone of Kiba. "Let's go, Akamaru!" They both rushed Zabusa's water clone.

"Not good enough!" Zabusa yelled, and kicked both Kibas away. He turned and prepared to slice one with his sword, but something whistling through the air forced him to turn his attention away. He blocked two shuriken that Sasuke had thrown with his sword, and turned to face Sasuke, who was rushing him. He readied his sword to attack Sasuke, but something wrapped around his sword, preventing him from swinging it freely. He turned to see Noriko there, a strange whip she held was wrapped around his sword.

"Kiba, do it!" yelled Noriko.

"Alright! Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: Fang Over Fang!" Kiba called out, and began to spin toward Zabusa's water clone in a whirlwind of claws and fangs.

Zabusa's clone swung his sword at Noriko, forcing her to release it from the whip and dodge... or so he thought. Instead, when she released the whip from his sword, it straightened, and she used it to block his sword. The impact still sent her tumbling back, but the whip, now a staff, protected her from being sliced in half.

Zabusa's clone turned to attack the Kiba that was just about upon him, but at the last moment, the attack swerved and aimed toward Zabusa's real body. As he saw the attack coming toward his real body, Zabusa realized there was a second attack coming at him from the side. The clone prepared to rush to help defend his real body, but something snaked around his leg, tripping him. It was that damn whip/staff thing again. Sasuke came down from above, plunging his kunai into the clone's back, dispersing it back into water. "Our sensei taught us to never let your enemy get behind you," he said.

Sasuke quickly made some hand signs, while Kiba and Akamaru maneuvered to hit the real Zabusa from opposite directions. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Technique!" he called, and blew a series of fireballs at Zabusa, before falling to a knee, coughing. "Damn, used too much chakra," he said, before collapsing.

The fireballs never hit their target, neither did Akamaru or Kiba. Zabusa jumped high up into the air, avoiding all the attacks. "You damn kids!" he yelled, as he prepared to slice Sasuke with his sword on his way down.

Noriko saw the attack coming. "Sasuke!" she cried out, and started to run to protect him from the blow. She staggered, and fell to a knee after a few steps. 'Damn it, I put too much chakra into this weapon...' She stopped focusing her chakra into the whip, and it changed back into a staff. She staggered back to her feet, and took a few steps toward Sasuke, but she knew she wouldn't make it in time. She staggered, and collapsed.

She heard the sound of metal hitting metal, and looked up to see Kakashi, kunai in hand stopping the blow that would have ended Sasuke's life. 'We're saved. Thank god,' were her last thoughts before she passed out.

* * *

She awoke to a spray of water in her face, and found herself being held by Kiba. "Hey! Let me go!" She started to struggle.

"Hey! Stop that! You don't want to fall down right now." Kiba said.

She stopped, and looked around. She realized they were up in a tree, and there was a torrent of water rushing below them. She shuddered as she thought of what would happen if she were caught in that. "Sorry. Thanks," she said. "Can you let me down now?"

Kiba let her down to stand on the branch they were on. "That's Kakashi's technique. He just blew away that Zabusa guy. Once this calms down, we should look for him."

Noriko nodded. She looked at the staff, she had held clenched in her hand. She looked down again at the torrent and sighed. "Guess I'll have to carry this for a while. It'll be hard to find the sealing scroll this was in."

"What is that, anyway? I've never seen a staff like that before. You used it like a whip a couple of times." Kiba took a close look at the staff. It looked like it was made up of countless little pieces of wood, all tied together with little metal strings.

"It's a special staff the Sandaime Hokage gave me a while ago. It'll change into a whip if you focus enough chakra into it. Keeping it there doesn't take as much, but it takes a lot of chakra to get it to change. Changing it back to a staff isn't tough, just stop focusing your chakra in it."

"I see. I'd ask to try it, but I used up most my chakra on my attacks against Zabusa. Akamaru did too. I had to take a food pill to have the energy to rescue you. I'm not sure where Akamaru and Sasuke are, hopefully safe."

The two watched in silence for a few moments until the torrent below them tapered off, then drained away. They both jumped to the ground, and looked around. "Kakashi will probably be wherever Zabusa is, and Zabusa is probably wherever the water dumped him. So if we head the direction the water was going, we might find them." Noriko started walking in the direction the water had been going.

Kiba shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

It wasn't long before they came across Kakashi. He was talking to a ninja wearing a mask with a symbol of the Hidden Mist Village. 'A Hidden Mist Anbu?' thought Noriko. Zabusa was lying between them, seemingly dead. The ninja picked up the corpse, and disappeared in a swirl of mist.

"Hey! Kakashi-sensei!" called out Noriko. She ran over to him. "Who was that?"

"That was a tracker ninja from the village hidden in the mist. She finished Zabusa off, and is taking the corpse to destroy it and its secrets." Kakashi pulled his headband back down over his Sharingan eye. He looked to the side, where Tazuna and Sasuke were walking toward him together. Tazuna was holding Akamaru, who looked to be sleeping.

"Akamaru!" Kiba ran to Tazuna. "Thank you, I'll take him now." He took Akamaru from Tazuna's arms.

"Well, at least that's what he said he was doing. It's his mission, not ours. Ours is to get Tazuna home, and that's not finished yet."

"Sorry, and thank you everyone. You can rest at my house," said Tazuna.

"Alright. Let's go..." Kakashi started to walk in the direction of Tazuna's house, but after a few steps he collapsed, unconscious.

* * *

Alright, chapter 3 is finally done! This took longer than I expected it to, as some events took a life of their own. C&C welcome, leave a review if you liked it. Leave a review if you didn't like it, for that matter. Let me know how I can improve my story.

A number of people have asked, so I'll define a couple of terms here.

kawaiikune: sexless, uncute

otemba: tomboy

I know, I could have defined the terms earlier. However, I thought more people would have been exposed enough to Ranma 1/2 to pick up on the term (Ranma's always calling Akane that). Then it hit me: Not everyone watches anime subbed, like I do. Of course, even then, there's still google...


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